Timeline

The Beginnings ﻿of Buddhsim

c. 563-483 B.C.E. - Traditional dates of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha﻿c. 273-232 B.C.E. -Life of Ashoka, Indian king who spread Buddhist valuesc. 50 C.E. -Entry of Buddhism into Chinac. 100 C.E. -Creation of the Lotus Sutrac. 300 C.E. -Beginning of the spread of Buddhism in Southeast Asiac. 400 C.E. -Entry of Buddhism into Koreac. 520 C.E. -﻿Introduction of Bodhidharma's Meditation school of Buddhism to China.﻿c. 552 C.E. -﻿Introduction of Buddhism into Japan﻿c. 630 C.E. -Entry of Buddhism into Tibetc. 820 C.E. -Founding of Tenai and Shingon Buddhism in Japanc. 845 C.E. - Major persecution of Buddhists in Chinac. 1000 C.E -Revival of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asiac. 1100-1500 - Decline of Buddhism in India1133- 1212 - Life of Honen, founder of the Pure Land sect in Japan1158-1210 - Life of Chinul, founder of the Korean Chogye orderc. 1200 -Beginning of the growth of Zen in Japan1222-1282 -Life of Nichiren, founder of NIcheren Buddhism in Japan1357-1419 -Life of Tsong Kha-pa, Tibetan Buddhist reformer1644-1694 -Life of poet Matsuo Bashoc. 1952 -Beginning of the World Fellowship of Buddhists1989 -Award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama

Buddhism is one of the world's oldest and most significant religions. It has spread through almost all of Asia, influencing the many cultures there, and is now gaining followers in the West. But it had its beginnings in India and arose from the experience of one person. India in the fifth century B.C.E. was in a state of religious ferment. Great enthusiasm for personal religious experience led people to experiment with meditation and deep breathing and to study with gurus. A growing number of schools of philosophy taught new ways of thinking, some of which opposed the growth of the priestly Vedic religion. Into this world came Siddhartha Gautama, who would come to be known as the Buddha, or the Awakened One.